Meet Father Bill

aka The Reverend William Carl Thomas

A brief spiritual autobiography

Written in 2004

The strong eyes of Jesus drew me into my call to priesthood in 1986. I had seen those eyes before in the Christus Rex that hung over the altar of the church of my youth. My wife saw my body jerk backwards and I felt like Paul on the road to Damascus. What I thought was my dream job, to be the General Manager of a radio station, was God's way of loving me so much that God allowed me thirty-three years before I rediscovered the kind of fulfilling work I need most to do. Frederick Buechner calls such fulfillment "deep gladness" (from Wishful Thinking)

Growing into my deep gladness has been a "road to Emmaus" experience. My "heart burned with fire"during sixth grade when I was confirmed in the Roman Catholic Church. I wanted to join the priests in feeding, as Buechner would put it, "the world's deep hunger." Mature adults convinced me to wait before I claimed my vocation. This allowed me the blessing at age 21 to marry Edna, now my wife and soul friend of over 34 years.

Being on the road to Emmaus meant that I did not understand, no matter how clearly Jesus explained everything. God and Edna were very patient with me during my twenties. In1980 I found Jesus again when Edna and I went church shopping for our new born daughter's baptism. As I reclaimed my baptism, my heart began to simmer with fire when I "knew him in the breaking of the bread." After the birth of my son in 1983, the embers of faith were fanned by being a Sunday School Superintendent, lector, chalice bearer, and vestry member until the strong eyes of Jesus caused those embers to ignite into flame.

Since my ordination in 1989, I find Jesus in the breaking of the bread (as both a member and leader of Christian community) is as necessary as breathing. As Buechner might put it, this is where deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet. Growing into the deep gladness of my priesthood comes as I try to be more aware and patient in sharing God's work in meeting the world's deep hunger. At my first parish as rector I built program and learned too late that my job was to love and really get to know the people. The pain of that experience caused me to walk again towards Emmaus. But Jesus was there and brought me to St. Matthias where my heart began to burn with fire again.

My 8 1/2 years at Saint Matthias taught me to listen more carefully and patiently for God's holy invitations. The invitation to minister at deaths and accidents as a volunteer hospital chaplain sharpens my listening and caring skills. It reminds me of my need to totally trust in God when meeting the world's deep hunger in awkward and often painful situations. The invitation to resign as an Army Reserve Chaplain in 1996 let me realize more fully my deep gladness in meeting the deep hunger of those in my pastoral care at the parish. The invitation to discover Deep Church as the foundation of my deep gladness has been my reward. Writing and teaching about Deep Church has become my way of empowering others to find their deep gladness as we meet the world?s deep hunger.

The fire within burns more passionately than ever before. It is no longer a walk to Emmaus, but a walk with my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to Shalom: the ideal of what life is intended by God to be.

Addendum - February, 2008

Moving to St. Matthews 4½ ago brought me to a place where I had not only to listen more attentively than ever before but to learn truly to trust in my God given abilities. My immediate predecessor as rector of St. Matthews was asked to leave early in his ministry. I almost made the same mistakes in this parish as I made at my first parish. My commitment to continuing education in the form of the Doctor of Ministry and the Clergy Leadership Project and my spiritual maturity led me to seek to release the parish from a rector driven ministry to a true mutual ministry. God gave me a gift while I was meditating at a Clergy Leadership Project reunion in November, 2007 that made real for me the intuitive understanding of the leadership identity I was cultivating through study and practice. God placed this breath prayer before me: “Lord Jesus Christ, I have nothing to prove, only your invitation to offer,” which I readily embrace as my understanding of what John the Baptist means when he says of Jesus, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” I have preached this breath prayer as a celebration that I can serve as rector and pastor in such a way that having nothing to prove about my faith or my ability, I can invite others to join in a shared journey of listening carefully to what God is doing at St. Matthews. The humble leadership identity I strive to model is a reality only when I keep this precious breath prayer close to the ear of my heart.

A willingness to listen and learn, in the power of the Holy Spirit, has transformed me into the priest I am today.

Of Note

2005  to Present - Enrolled in Doctor of Ministry (Ministry Development) at Virginia Theological Seminary.  Currently writing my Doctoral thesis paper using the following learning from my self-study of myself as a rector serving a parish in transition from smaller size to larger size:

A disciplined approach to prayer on the part of the rector that builds a trusting relationship with God provides the refuge necessary to manage the congregation’s anxiety as the process of transformation unfolds. Unintended consequences that subvert this process are minimized when action/reflection techniques are integrated into a principle-centered leadership identity.

Benedictine Study Group - Since early 2005, I have guided a group, consisting most often of men, that meets weekly for a simple breakfast and an open study centered on Benedictine Spirituality. This group has formed three very strong and dedicated vestry members.

Children's Teaching Videos - Since arrival in Charleston in September, 2003 through mid-2006, I made over 30 weekly 5 to 6 minute videos with teaching themes for children that are shown at the end of Sunday School.

Deep Church - “a group of people who gather with a willing expectation to share intimately the love of God.” The January 20, 2002 parish administration issue of The Living Church magazine featured an article (posted at www.deepchurch.net) written by me regarding the renewed sense of hospitality, mission, and stewardship at St. Matthias as expressed in the following: “Deep Church nurtures discipleship within an inter-dependent organization of small, intimate groups that support and care for one another. Deep Church builds Apostolic Faith grounded in the sacraments with an attitude that shares the Great Commandment, proclaims the Great Commission, and reminds all that the call to ministry begins with Holy Baptism. Deep Church is an expression that calls all to carry on Christ’s work of reconciliation in the world.”

C.Y.C.L.E. - Christian Youth & Children?s Learning Experience - C.Y.C.L.E. teaches one lesson in depth over three weeks from three different perspectives (Story/Audio Visual, Computer, Arts & Crafts). Children cycle each week through a different experience. This adaptation of the WoRM model (Workshop Rotation Method) offers program flexibility to both larger and smaller churches (developed summer, 2000).

L.O.B.C. - Living Our Baptismal Covenant - LOBC is directly responsible for developing the Deep Church attitude that empowers lay ministry at St. Matthias. Beginning in 1995, a culture evolved in which from 10 to 20 different people (in a parish of about 140 families) make an eight month, two-hour Sunday evening commitment to a lay-led Christian formation process of bible study, teaching, prayer, discovery, and discernment. I developed teaching materials for the Diocese of Milwaukee while in seminary (1987-1989) for the LOBC process of adult formation based on the ancient catechumenal model.

First Intentional Communion - Developed over 1989-1991,this approach helps second grade age children become more fully prepared to receive the Holy Communion. Includes a liturgy and units that focus on a first confession and stewardship. Now a regular program at Saint Matthews. Read the text from an article published in November/December 2007 issue of The Dayspring by clicking here. First Intentional Communion was folded into Vacation Sacrament School, developed at St. Matthias and conducted in the first week of June, 2001.

The Innkeeper's Witness - Created, wrote, and directed this original musical production with typical Christmas pageant elements that teaches what we are really preparing for. The now old innkeeper witnesses at the end after meeting Jesus again at the Wedding in Cana, the Feeding of the Five Thousand, and the Road to Emmaus, “I hope I will not be as unprepared for his second coming as I was at his first.” Initial production in December, 2000. Features original music and lyrics composed by my son, who was ordained a priest on June 14, 2008.

 

See my resume,

 

By Father Bill

Read Learning to Lead by Listening with the “Ear of My Heart”(How This High “J” Keeps Finding His “P”): A Theology of Leadership. An Essay in Support of the Application for The Doctor of Ministry Program Virginia Theological Seminary, Alexandria, Virginia by Father Bill submitted on October 13, 2004.
Articles written by Father Bill while Rector of Saint Matthias Episcopal Church, Tuscaloosa, Alabama (12/1994 to 7/2003)

Listen to a sermon preached by Father Bill at Saint Matthews

Contact Father Bill

williamcarlthomas@gmail.com